Queen Elfaria
: "My true name is...Fimbulvetr...Let this awful winter disappears with...Me...." :: ''-Elfaria when dying'' Queen Elfaria is the leader of the Fairy race and the ruler of the kingdom of Ringford located in the southern realm of Erion. She is also the mother of Queen Mercedes. Elfaria dies in the early stages of the game at the hands of Demon Lord Odin who uses the encounter to demonstrate the sheer power of his Balor Appearance Even by Fairy standards, Elfaria is extremely beautiful, as commented by Odin. Her wings are violet, and graduate into sky blue at their uppermost ends, and have black patterns resembling leaves and are very similar to a butterfly's. Unlike most insect wings, each wing seems to be one whole appendage, instead of being composed of a forewing and hindwing. They are roughly larger than the rest of her body and she is capable of flight. She wears a long leaf-green gown with a thigh-high split in the side, the hem of which trails a little behind her. The gown has large puffy shoulders that appear to be bundles of foliage (leaves and vines) at closer glance, and long slightly sheer white under-sleeves, flared at the wrist. She also wears green high heels that match her dress, and is most always seen carrying a tall wooden staff, topped with a hook shape much like a shepherd's crook. The crook is green at its end, like a new shoot, and gradually turns browner and more brittle looking near its tip, like a withering stalking, and bears browning leaves. It is like her scepter, and indicative of the Fairies' responsibilities for keeping the land green, growing, and allowing nature to flourish. Her hair is blonde and wavy and quite long, ending in large curls. She wears a wreath of large, light green flowers as a crown. Upon her death, she has lost her scepter and crown both. Personality Elfaria is a singular example in the story of a strong monarch who is genuinely not evil or filled with greed (Mercedes acts similarly when she becomes queen). She was not interested in controlling the Crystallization Cauldron to increase her own power, unlike Odin, but to protect her own lands. She holds Odin in contempt for his destructive ways, vowing to punish him for them during their encounter in the Cauldron War. She also is a rather courageous woman, despite the hopelessness of the situation she shows no fear against Odin until he revealed his Psypher Balor and demonstrated its power. She disliked Melvin's plans to mass produce Belderivers, fearing the curse on them, and was struck by some dismay when Melvin revealed he had Oswald kill the dragon Hindel. Though sparks occasionally fly between the two for their conflicting ideals, especially on psyphers, she does seem to trust her nephew, entrusting Mercedes' safekeeping and support to him should the worst happen to her. Unfortunately, her trust was misplaced. She is known to be a diplomatic and wise individual, as it is revealed during the unseen Fairy-Dwarf conflict that she forgave the Dwarves instead of punishing them, earning her their trust and loyalty. Biography Not much is known about Elfaria except that she is a monarch regarded in high esteem by all of Ringford, for being the responsible of uniting the races of her territory under a single banner. She many times attempted negotiation with the Dwarves during the Fairy-Dwarf conflict as she recognized their technological abilities and sought to put them to good use, which was not well received with the Fairies. Eventually the conflict flared and the Dwarves attempted to use the Crystallization Cauldron to their advantage. This backfired on the Dwarves and Elfaria ordered her troops to save both ally and foe while she put herself in front of the Cauldron to stop it. The Dwarves were captured and ready to be sentenced but she forgave them instead and welcomed them into her kingdom. This earned her the full trust of the race although a fraction of them that escaped joined the Aesir ranks instead. This feat earned her the praise of all the kingdom that regards her as a legendary regent. She was then given the Tasla Psypher as a token of gratitude. At later points Elfaria's nephew Melvin spent most of the early stages of the storyline attempting to convince her of the need to mass-produce Belderivers, though she was unwilling to do so due to the curse on the weapons. She appears for a short while in Gwendolyn's story, where the two women exchange insults before Beldor arrives with Belial while she retreats. However as she attempts to lead the Vanir on a helpless struggle in which Melvin suggests retreating. Before they can do so they are intercepted by Odin who destroys the remainder of her close guard with his Balor Psypher. Odin comments on Elfaria's beauty and that it is a shame he has to "break her perfect neck like stepping on a lily" while the queen insults Odin for his ruthless ambition and that he will not be forgiven. Odin then unleashes the power of his Balor before her, leaving Elfaria speechless and unable to act before being fatally injured. She manages to return to her palace with her last words, Elfaria told Mercedes to be strong and to not seek revenge. She expressed her regret over leaving the burden of being queen on the young shoulders of her daughter, but expressed her faith in her daughter before passing. Abilities While she was never seen using it, it is likely she was skilled in using her Psypher bow Tasla. She never had the chance to use it during the storyline however, as Elfaria allowed Mercedes to use her bow so she could hone her skills by hunting frogs, which ultimately proved to be her downfall as she was unarmed when facing the power of Odin's psypher during the Second Battle of the Cauldron War when the Demon Lord invaded the Vanir's forward headquarters. Trivia *Elfaria's true name is Fimbulvetr ("the great winter"). In Norse Mythology, the Fimbul Winter marks the beginning of Ragnarok, which would be Armageddon in Odin Sphere's storyline. In the norse mythology the Fimbul Winter is described of being three successive winters where snow comes in from all directions, without any intervening summer. During this time, there will be innumerable wars and brothers will kill brothers. **This likely mirrors the situation in her land, where the nation becomes chaotic as a result of Melvin's insurrection, putting the Vanir on a civil war. Category:Royalty